Carpets

We arrived mid-afternoon in Selcuk, a mid size provincial town in western Turkey, which is the base for exploring Ephesus. For the number of tourists the town sees, it is surprisingly normal, with reasonable prices by Turkish standards, and is quite laid back.  On the way to look for dondurma (Turkish ice cream which is kind of chewy), we were enticed into a carpet shop by the owner's unique Van cat (from the Lake Van area). If you have read my previous posts about traveling in Turkey with my sister, you know she is a cat lover to the extreme, so we had to go in.

We ended up spending most of the afternoon in the peaceful quiet of the carpet shop, chatting with the owner, drinking glasses of tea, and playing with the cat. I ended up with yet another carpet (the photos are from the ones I bought in Cappadocia) - green ones, which are hard to find here in Turkey, surprisingly.

Like other Middle Eastern countries, Turkey has a long carpet making tradition, with different regions making unique designs and patterns, so there are endless possibilities (but little green!).  No trip to Turkey is complete without a trip to the carpet seller... The trick is finding one with nice things and an honest owner (easier outside of Istanbul).